There is a vast and growing industry dedicated to gathering, organizing, and presenting media content to consumers (viewers and/or users) of information such as news, entertainment, sports, emergency alerts, advertisements, and other subject matter. This industry is supplying information to consumers at an ever-increasing rate. This overabundance of information will soon surpass the standard methods consumers use to sift through the information to access the information that is desired. For example, serially switching channels on a television from one channel number to the next highest (or lowest) channel number is inefficient, frustrating, and time-consuming. The problem becomes exacerbated as the number of available television channels increases. The typical television viewer normally is not interested in viewing any but a small fraction of the available channels and the need to “surf” through a huge number of channels to reach a desired channel makes the viewing experience less than optimal. Even jumping to a particular channel (e.g., by entering the channel number into a remote control device) becomes problematic since the viewer must remember the channel number, manage the rearrangement of channels which may change from time-to-time as distributors rearrange their channel assignments to accommodate new programming and/or remove old programming, and associate desired content with completely different channel numbers if the viewer travels to a different geographic location. This problem is in no way limited to television viewing as is evident by the increase in the number of terrestrial radio stations as well as the advent of satellite radio “stations” with their large number of channels dedicated to particular musical, informational, or “talk radio” content. Similarly, for example, media content presented to consumers via the internet is continually expanding and the consumer is presented with comparable problems. A further example is a music-playing device, such as a personal portable music player for which the consumer can add/delete content at will. There are also other means of communication for which the need to manage the flow of information is becoming necessary.
Furthermore, current systems for interfacing with a content presentation system (e.g., a television, a radio, an internet-connected device, a music playing device, a portable entertainment device, a personal digital assistant, a cellular phone/information system, and combinations thereof) may not have the means to identify the user nor present content for which the identified user is most likely seeking access. Those systems that do require that the user actively input information into the system. Additionally, current interfacing systems do not share their information with other interfacing systems but rather are slaved to a particular content presentation system.
The present disclosure overcomes the above-mentioned limitations in existing systems by disclosing, among other things, systems and/or methods to identify a user interacting with a content presentation system, adaptively learn, in a passive manner, a user's pattern of accessing content over time, and globally store the user's identifying and use information.
According to one embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a novel method for creating a smart electronic programming guide, including determining an identity of a user interacting with a content presentation system, collecting channel use information for each of a plurality of channels from the user's interaction with the content presentation system, storing the channel use information, determining a value for each of the plural channels as a function of the channel use information, and creating a smart electronic programming guide for the plural channels as a function of the determined value.
Furthermore, the above embodiment may include creating a first smart electronic programming guide for the plural channels for a first mode of content delivery by the content presentation system and creating a second smart electronic programming guide for the plural channels for a second mode of content delivery by the content presentation system.
According to another embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a novel system for creating a smart electronic programming guide, including circuitry for determining an identity of a user interacting with a content presentation system, circuitry for collecting channel use information for each of a plurality of channels from the user's interaction with the content presentation system, an electronic storage device for storing the channel use information, circuitry for determining a value for each of the plural channels as a function of the channel use information, and circuitry for creating a smart electronic programming guide for the plural channels as a function of the determined value.
Additionally, the above embodiment may further include circuitry for creating a first smart electronic programming guide for the plural channels for a first mode of content delivery by the content presentation system and circuitry for creating a second smart electronic programming guide for the plural channels for a second mode of content delivery by the content presentation system.
According to yet another embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a novel method for switching from a first signal provided by a content provider to a second signal provided by the content provider, including identifying a user of a first content presentation system that is operatively connected to the content provider, where the content provider provides one or more signals, including the first and second signals, to the first content presentation system, creating a first smart electronic programming guide based on the identity of the user and based on previously determined information for the user where the information is determined for a recurring first time period, associating the first smart electronic programming guide with a first actuator operable by the user for interacting with the first content presentation system, operating the first actuator to thereby present the first smart electronic programming guide to the user, where the first smart electronic programming guide includes programming information for the first and second signals, operating a second actuator to select the second signal, and operating a third actuator to thereby switch the first content presentation system from presenting the first signal provided by the content provider to presenting the second signal provided by the content provider.
The embodiment may further include operatively connecting a first data collection device to a second data collection device wherein the first data collection device is operatively connected to the first content presentation system and the second data collection device is operatively connected to a second content presentation system, and where the first and second content presentation systems are each operatively connected to the content provider, and transmitting at least one of the identity, the channel use information, and the first smart electronic programming guide from the first data collection device to the second data collection device. Furthermore, the embodiment may include associating the first smart electronic programming guide with a fourth actuator operable by the user for interacting with the second content presentation system, operating the fourth actuator to thereby present the first smart electronic programming guide to the user, wherein the first smart electronic programming guide includes programming information for a third signal and a fourth signal, operating a fifth actuator to select the fourth signal, and operating a sixth actuator to thereby switch the first content presentation system from presenting the third signal provided by the content provider to presenting the fourth signal provided by the content provider.
According to still another embodiment, the above-described method may include creating a second smart electronic programming guide based on the identity of the user and based on previously determined information for the user where the information is determined for a recurring second time period, associating the second smart electronic programming guide with the first actuator operable by the user for interacting with the first content presentation system, operating the first actuator to thereby present the second smart electronic programming guide to the user, where the second smart electronic programming guide includes programming information for the first and second signals, operating a second actuator to select the second signal, and operating a third actuator to thereby switch the first content presentation system from presenting the first signal provided by the content provider to presenting the second signal provided by the content provider.
According to a further embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a novel system for switching from a first signal provided by a content provider to a second signal provided by the content provider, including a first content presentation system, circuitry for determining an identity of a user of the first content presentation system that is operatively connected to the content provider, where the content provider provides one or more signals to the first content presentation system, circuitry for creating a first smart electronic programming guide based on the identity of the user and based on previously determined information for the user wherein the information is determined for a recurring first time period, a first actuator operable by the user for interacting with the first content presentation system, and circuitry for associating the first smart electronic programming guide with the first actuator where the operation of the first actuator switches the first content presentation system from presenting the first signal provided by the content provider to presenting the second signal provided by the content provider.
The above embodiment may further include circuitry for operatively connecting a first data collection device to a second data collection device where the first data collection device is operatively connected to the first content presentation system and the second data collection device is operatively connected to a second content presentation system, and where the first and second content presentation systems are each operatively connected to the content provider, and a first transmitter for transmitting at least one of the identity, the channel use information, and the first smart electronic programming guide from the first data collection device to the second data collection device. Additionally, the embodiment may include circuitry for associating the first smart electronic programming guide with a second actuator operable by the user for interacting with the second content presentation system, where the operation of the second actuator causes the first smart electronic programming guide to be presented to the user, and wherein the first smart electronic programming guide includes programming information for a third signal and a fourth signal, a third actuator the operation of which by the user selects the fourth signal, and a fourth actuator the operation of which by the user switches the second content presentation system from presenting the third signal provided by the content provider to presenting the fourth signal provided by the content provider.
According to yet a further embodiment, the above embodiment may further include circuitry for creating a second smart electronic programming guide based on the identity of the user and based on previously determined information for the user where the information is determined for a recurring second time period, and circuitry for associating the second smart electronic programming guide with the first actuator operable by the user for interacting with the first content presentation system, wherein operating the first actuator switches the first content presentation system from presenting a third signal provided by the content provider to presenting a fourth signal provided by the content provider.
These and many other advantages of the present disclosure will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure pertains from a perusal of the claims, the appended drawings, and the following detailed description.